For Better Or For Worse
by G66XD66
Summary: A story that follows the lives of Giroro and Dororo, and the bond they share. But the road ahead is uneven... GiroDoro Yaoi. Rated T for bad language and slight violence/gore.
1. Prolouge

**For Better Or For Worse**

Prolouge

"Pa-paaa! Why do I have to go to schoooooool?" Keroro whined from the back of the car.

"Now, now, little Keroro, if you don't go to school, how do you expect to become a soldier, or make any friends?" said his father.

"It's how your father got where he is now" added his mother in the passenger seat turning to Keroro to give him a comforting smile.

"Hmm… Yeah, you're right! I'll be just like dad! And my first mission is to invade and c… con… conc…"

"Conquer?"

"Yeah, that's it! Gero gero gero!"

Keroro's mother looked at her husband with an exasperated smile.

"Huh. I don't see the point of school, dad, they don't teach you anything about survival or weapon skill!" groaned Giroro as he was walking to school with his dad.

"Son, a stupid soldier is a useless soldier. I thought you would enjoy it, you can learn more about mechanics, you know, for those trains you love so much"

Giroro blushed a bit, reminded of his passion for locomotives.

They paused at the gates, and Giroro's father knelt down to give his son one of his rare hugs.

"You be brave, son" He said, standing up straight and saluting. Giroro did likewise before entering the gates, head held high, his father watching proudly as he went.

Mama, I know how to get to school, you don't have to drive me there" Said Zeroro, despite the fact he and his parents were in a chauffeured vehicle.

"We want to make sure you get there safely, son" Said his father, smiling behind his mask.

"I'm only worried about teasing… I'm so quiet, and they'll make fun of my mask. I don't think I'll make any friends…"

"Don't be so pessimistic, darling" Said his mother, though she was clearly worried herself. When they finally pulled up outside the school, Zeroro's parents each gave him a hug.

"You're a brave boy, darling" said his mother before he got out the car. He watched them leave before turning - the school was going in! He was going to be late!


	2. Chapter 1

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 1

The doors to class K6 opened and the children marched in, introducing themselves to the class one at a time.

Four of the children were late, and mumbled their apologies to the teacher before going up to the front. The first one up was a pale pink girl with a pink and yellow heart insignia on her hat, which also had a flower pinned to it.

"Konichiwa, I'm Pururu, please take care of me" she said, bowing politely. All the boys stared at her, she was beautiful! Their ayes followed her as she made her way to her seat.

The next one up was a red boy with stern eyes and a yellow skull insignia.

"Giroro's my name, let's work hard together!" He said boldly, standing in a perfect salute. He heard some girls snickering, and he reacted by baring his fangs at them and growling, his eyes sharpening into rusty blue dots. The girl's shrieked and clung to each other as he took his seat.

Up next was a green lad with the yellow keron star insignia on his hat.

"I'm Keroro, and some day, I'm gonna be a great soldier!" He said, smiling amiably before trotting up to his seat.

The last one up was a pale blue boy with matching eyes, a medical mask and a red shuriken insignia. "I… I'm Zeroro… I… look forward to working together with you all…" He said bashfully before taking his seat. As there were seven four seated tables, the last four children were sat together at the same desk.

Pururu and Giroro were sat up straight, concentrating on the teacher, Giroro half twisted as he was opposite Pururu and had his back to the teacher. Zeroro was looking down at his lap nervously, and Keroro was watching him.

"You look really nervous" He said suddenly. Zeroro looked up at him briefly but said nothing. Giroro glanced at the two of them for a second.

"I know!", Said Keroro "Why don't all of us on this table be friends? Team work will get us through, yes sir!" he said, put his little hand in the middle of the table. Zeroro gingerly placed his hand on his. Giroro turned again, grinned in agreement and placed his hand on Zeroro's. Pururu looked nervous for a second, but Keroro, who was sat next to her, lifted up her arm and placed her hand on Giroro's. They all pulled away, waving their hands in the air.

"Yay!"

At break time, Keroro and Giroro were walking round the playground together, looking for Pururu and Zeroro. They saw Pururu playing with some other girls, so they left her to it. Giroro was a bit disgruntled that Keroro had forgotten that they were also looking for Zeroro, but they soon saw him sat on his own, clutching his bag close to his chest. Before they could call him over, some other kids walked up to him. The ring leader suddenly lashed out and picked Zeroro up by his collar, chucking him into a nearby bush and winding him.

"O…oy! What are you doing to Zeroro?" Giroro called, but they didn't hear him. Two of the kids grabbed Zeroro by the shoulders and restrained him while the leader went through his bag.

"Hey guys, I found his lunch! Oh hang on… What's with this pink sheet of paper…" he said, unfolding the pale pink note.

"Ha ha ha! 'To my dear little Zeroro, you be a big, brave boy at school today, lots and lots of love from your mummy, xxx'!" the kid read out, Zeroro blushing madly.

"This kid's a total mummy's boy!" he said before pushing Zeroro against a wall.

"M… maybe we should leave…" Keroro murmured, grabbing Giroro's wrist. Giroro shook his hand away. Yes, Giroro was scared, but he was a soldier, and Zeroro was his comrade - he would protect him.

He ran towards the bullies and shoved the ring leader off of Zeroro. Hard.

"Y… you even DARE hit me!" He said before getting up and punching Giroro square in the face, throwing him down.

"Giroro-Kun!" Zeroro yelled. Did he just call him… Giroro-Kun?

Giroro got up and bared his fangs, sharpening his glare at the bullies, just as he had done in class earlier. He barked out a single laugh.

"Just wait till Garuru hears about this!" He growled.

"G… G… Garuru? You know Garuru?" stammered the ring leader.

"Do I? He's my older brother"

"He… He's your… RUN!" he called to his friends before they all scurried off.

Giroro turned to the quivering Zeroro.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"You protected me… he punched you in the face… I'm sorry.." whispered Zeroro.

"Don't apologise, I'm fine!" Giroro grinned, before brushing Zeroro down and bringing him to Keroro.

"Is… Is Garuru really your older brother?" Keroro asked nervously.

"He sure is, you'll see! He's picking me up after school today" Giroro grinned proudly, wiping away a trickle of blood from his bruised face.

Sure enough, Giroro's older brother was waiting for him as he left the last class of the day.

"Hey, how was your first da-" Garuru began before noticing his little brother's black eye a bruised face.

"What happened to you?" He asked worriedly, gripping his brother's shoulders and carefully examining his battered face.

"Some bullies were attacking my new friend Zeroro, so I stepped in to protect him" he said.

Garuru Sighed and looked up. He spotted three boys quivering in fear, and new instantly that they were the cause of his poor brother's injuries. He marched up to them and picked them all up by their collars.

"If any of you even THINK of laying a finger on my brother or his friends again, I'll introduce you to my good friend, PAIN. Got it?" He growled.

The boys all nodded madly, so he let them go and they ran off. He came back to Giroro and hugged him tightly.

"Sheesh, you say you want to walk home on your own after today, and you get in a scrap on the first day of school!" Garuru sighed.

"It's ok Nii-Chan - I'll fight back next time"

Garuru Grinned.

"You are definitely my little brother" he said before taking him home.

Keroro and Zeroro watched from the gates.

"They seem real close, huh, Zeroro?" Said Keroro.

"Mm. I wish I was brave and strong like Garuru, so I could be a good role model for my new brother when he's born" he said.

"I'm an only child, so I don't bother with that stuff"

Suddenly, Zeroro's mother appeared from round the corner.

"Zeroro! Zeroro let's go home, darling" she called

So he began to walk to his mum, before abruptly turning back.

"W-Will you still be my friend tomorrow?" he asked quietly.

"What? Of course, what are you talking about?" Keroro grinned.

"R-really? Thank you!" Cried Zeroro before finally going to his mum, his little tail wagging all the way.

Keroro smiled as he watched, before making his way home. He'd lied about being driven home by his parents - he just wanted to spend as much time with his new friends as possible.


	3. Chapter 2

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 2

The next day, all the students were asked to bring in family photos, to give a better background to their classmates and teachers. Keroro, Pururu and Giroro were allowed to walk to school alone that day, but because Zeroro was targeted a day prior, he was driven to school again, though after a few hours of pleading, his parents had relented and had allowed him to walk home alone.

Keroro and Giroro waited by the gate for Zeroro before going to their lesson. Keroro quickly spotted him.

"Zeroro!" Called, waving. Then he spotted Pururu and called her over too.

"Konichiwa, Keroro-Kun and Giroro-Kun!" Zeroro beamed.

"Konichiwa, Keroro-kun, what is it?" asked Pururu.

"You didn't play with us yesterday" He frowned in reply.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I made some friends in a P.E. lesson…"

"That's ok" Said Giroro.

"But we're meant to be a friend group!" Keroro whined.

"We can be, I just want to have a girl group as well"

"Ok" Keroro finally accepted.

"Zeroro! How are you? I heard about yesterday" Pururu said suddenly, squeezing Zeroro in a hug.

"I'm fine… Giroro protected me, but he got punched right in his face" said Zeroro, blushing at the sudden attention he was given.

"Oh my! How are you then?" Gasped Pururu, turning to Giroro.

"Just fine, he wasn't that strong" Giroro said modestly.

"You're so brave!"

Giroro stuck out his chest proudly, blushing slightly at the compliment.

"Hey, why don't we share our photos before class?" asked Keroro suddenly, changing the subject.

"I can't. The girls are cooking today, remember? We have to get there extra early so we can prepare the kitchen. Sayonara!" said Pururu before dashing off to her lesson. Keroro rolled his eyes before bringing out a photo and showing it to Giroro and Zeroro.

"This is me!" He said, pointing at a younger version of himself, clasping a gundam model to his chest.

"This is mum" He said, pointing to a warm, friendly looking woman with dark, permed hair wearing a pink apron.

"And this is dad" he said, gesturing to a stoic, yet amiable looking man with a small moustache, wearing a war helmet and a tie.

"Your family look really nice" Smiled Zeroro, before taking out a photo of his own.

"This was only taken last week. This is me" he said, gesturing to his little beaming self at the bottom of the picture.

"This is dad" He said, pointing at a man with gentle eyes in a war helmet and medical mask.

"And this is mum. She's a bit big in this because she's pregnant like she still is now" he said, gesturing to a shy, but friendly looking woman in a blue dress at the side of the photo. She had her hair held up in a bun by chopsticks rather than just loose, or beneath a hat. She too wore a medical mask.

"Your dad looks like a really experienced soldier" Giroro said admiringly before taking out his own photo.

"This is obviously me" He said, pointing to himself, saluting proudly in the centre of the picture.

"This is my father" He said, gesturing to a fierce looking man with a handle bar moustache and bushy eyebrows. On his head he wore a simple bandana, bearing a similar insignia to that of Giroro, only black. Round his waist he wore a think green belt.

"And this is nii-chan, Garuru, who you saw yesterday" He said, gesturing to his deep purple older brother, with a yellow visor and a blue belt with a circular clasp slung over his left shoulder and round his waist.

"When I get older, I'm gonna get a belt of my own" Said Giroro.

"Where's your mum?" Keroro asked suddenly.

Giroro froze and didn't say anything.

"Giroro?"

Still nothing.

"Oh no! She's not… not…" Zeroro began.

"Dead? Yeah. She died about nine months ago, murdered by a mortal enemy of my father.

Keroro and Zeroro stared at the straight faced Giroro in shock, pity, and awe at his bravery.

"I'm so sorry" Said Keroro.

"It's ok. You didn't know"

They stood there awkwardly for a minute

"We're gonna be late" Giroro stated simply before making his way to class, his friends close behind.

Later on. At lunch break, Giroro left the class early, so Keroro and Zeroro had to look. To Zeroro's other disbelief, Keroro spotted some boys playing football, so he totally abandoned the search for his friend to play with them instead.

Zeroro was worried, he was on his own again. Still, he searched fruitlessly for his red companion. Eventually he began to retreat to an empty corner, so he wouldn't be spotted by potential bullies - or was it empty? He heard soft snuffling sounds coming from behind a large red fuse box attached to the school wall. He slowly approached it, and gasped audibly at what he saw.

"Gi-Giroro-Kun!" He cried.

The quivering child looked up, horrified that he'd been discovered.

"Don't look at me!" He screeched, hiding his damp face with his arm.

"Giroro-Kun…" Zeroro said very, very gently, sitting down next to his tear-wracked friend. Hearing Zeroro's soothing voice, Giroro knew that he wouldn't judge him, so he turned to look at him.

"Th-th-this is the first time I've ever cried, apart from I was a baby of course. I never cried even when my mum died, but… bringing it up today… it finally hit me. I'm never gonna see my mother ever again" he said in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"It's ok to cry… it lets it all out… I should know, I'm the biggest cry baby there is"

"No you're not"

They sat like that in silence until the end of lunch.

"We need to get back to class" Giroro said flatly, getting up, nearly dropping the black, box-shaped item he held to his chest.

"Giroro-Kun, what's that you've got?" asked Zeroro inquisitively.

"Oh this? It's my camera case… I was looking at a few old pictures… I'll show you some after school, seeing as you're walking home today"

"Cool, I can't wait"

Sure enough, Zeroro was met after school by Giroro.

"What about Keroro-Kun?" asked Zeroro.

"Keroro got into big trouble for accidentally smashing a window with a football. He has to stay behind so the school can have a word with his parents when they come to pick him up"

"Poor Keroro-Kun…"

"I can't help thinking he deserves it for some reason…"

They began on their way home. Giroro was showing Zeroro all his photographs, then paused as he pulled out the bottom one.

"This is mum" said Giroro quietly. She was light purple in colour, with sharp, but gentle eyes, just like Giroro's. She had a bandana with strips of cloth hanging out at either side to serve as ear flaps. She had two belts criss-crossing her battle worn body.

She had a few little scars on he left arm, and one on her left. She had a long scar right across her forehead, which, at a glance, looked sort of like a headband. She had a curved scar below her left eye, a larger, red scar above her right one, and a little scar on the right side of her chin.

"This was the last picture taken of her before she was murdered. As you can tell by her scars, she was a fierce warrior. Dad used to say that she pushed herself to much." Said Giroro.

"She looks lovely, though a little scary" Zeroro admitted.

"She _Was _lovely. She was gentle and caring, and, unlike the rest of my family, has a high tolerance of things, only getting mad if we were being extra naughty or if anyone was in danger or being threatened in any way"

"She sounds like she was incredibly important to you"

"And to my family"

Giroro looked up the road and saw that they would be splitting paths soon.

He suddenly wound his arm around Zeroro's shoulder and held his camera in front of them.

"Say cheese!" he laughed, showing of his characteristic fangs, waiting till Zeroro was grinning too before taking the photo.

"But you can't see my mouth" said Zeroro.

"I can still tell when you're smiling", Said Giroro "I'll make you a copy of this at some point so you can have it too. Seeya tomorrow, Zeroro!"

"Sayonara, Giroro-Kun" grinned Zeroro before turning the corner. Although a little confused, Zeroro was happy that Giroro had cheered up, and felt proud that he was worthy of having a friend that liked him back for a change.


	4. Chapter 3

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 3

The next day, as Zeroro was allowed to walk to school on his own, Giroro decided to meet him half way.

"I'm sorry Zeroro, I couldn't copy the photo last night, Nii-chan had a HUGE essay to type up and -"

"Giroro-kun, it's okay" Zeroro smiled coolly.

Giroro shuddered a little and blushed. Zeroro tilted his head in confusion.

"What is it, Giroro-kun?" asked Zeroro

Giroro looked up at his friend, his eyes sharpening in embarrassment for a quick second before dilating back to normal.

"N-nothing… It's just, when you talk your voice is so… cool and gentle…"

Zeroro stared at him with a raised eyebrow and a little blush.

Giroro looked up and waved his hands, blushing wildly.

"No no! Not like that… heh… I dunno why I shivered… I guess I'm just used to more harsh voices, having been living with just my brother and my dad… the softness just reminded me of-" Giroro stopped abruptly, looking downcast. Zeroro knew he was referring to his mother.

"I know, Giroro-kun. I know" Zeroro smiled comfortingly. Giroro shyly returned the smile.

They stopped outside the school gates.

"I'll see you after school, we can walk home together again"

Zeroro beamed widely behind his medical mask.

After School, Giroro went to the gate to wit for Zeroro as he'd promised, but instead he was met by Keroro.

"Giroro-kun! I want to show you something!" He called excitedly, tail wagging frantically.

"I can't, Keroro, I promised Zeroro I would meet him here after school" Said Giroro, staying where he was.

"Oh… Well I guess he forgot, I just saw him get picked up by his parents just now" said Keroro.

"R-really? Oh… well ok then…" Giroro sighed, trying not to look disappointed. He glumly followed Keroro out of the gates to whatever it is he wanted to show him.

Just as they left, Zeroro walked to the gate.

"Gi… Giroro-kun? Where are you?" he called, looking around. Receiving no response, he sat on the footpath and waited patiently.

"See? Isn't it awesome? This lot was abandoned so dad helped me turn it into a base!" Keroro bleated excitedly, itching to show his friend around. He lead him into an almost completely empty concrete lot, containing some tires, a small sandbox, a tree and a fridge… a fridge?

Keroro ran up to said fridge and scurried inside it. Giroro tried to follow him, but Keroro held the door shut tightly.

"What's the password?" Came his muffled voice from behind the door.

"Uh… how should I know?" asked Giroro, a little irritated and confused.

"Clue: It's Gero Geroincho"

"Huh… Gero Geroincho"

"Come in!" Cried Keroro as he loosened his grip on the door and allowed Giroro to pull it open. He climbed into the fridge, only to discover it was actually a bow leading to a large, underground space.

Keroro showed the awed Giroro around for a bit, before Giroro announced that he actually had to be getting home soon.

As he opened the fridge door and got out, he saw Zeroro staring into the lot, horrified.

"Ze…Zeroro? I thought you'd gone home!" Giroro cried.

"I… I waited for you Giroro-kun!" Zeroro wailed before running off in tears.

Giroro stared, confused and upset by poor Zeroro's tears. He slowly turned to Keroro with a face like thunder.

"You… you LIED to me!," Growled Giroro "now Zeroro hates me and it's all your fault!"

"G…Giroro-kun…"

"SHUTTUP!" Giroro yelled before turning and running home.

"W…what have I done?" Keroro whimpered. He didn't mean to upset Zeroro, he was just so naive, never realising how selfish he was bring until it was to late.

Later that night, Garuru was walking with Giroro to Zeroro's house - well, practically dragging him - as Giroro was convinced Zeroro would hate him and not want to see him. Garuru wanted to prove him wrong and save his friendship.

"There's no point in this, nii-chan, Zeroro won't even want the photo now"

"If you just explain to him that it was a misunderstanding, I'm sure he'll forgive you"

Giroro looked up to object, and found they were already stood at Zeroro's front door. He moaned, not wanting to see Zeroro's reaction to his arrival.

Garuru, seeing that there was no chance of Giroro plucking up the courage to knock on the door himself, knocked for him. A few moments later, a man answered the door. Giroro immediately recognised him as Zeroro's father.

"Good afternoon, I'm Garuru, and this is my younger brother Giroro" Garuru said politely, trying to be as grown-up as possible.

"Ah, Giroro! I've heard a lot about you from our Zeroro" the man appeared to smile. He too was wearing a medical mask. "Come in, come in"

Giroro gulped as he entered the huge, brightly lit marble hallway, flanked with statues of what must have been Zeroro's ancestors. The hall was beautifully decorated, with marble pillars, A huge staircase and two giant chandeliers.

"Zeroro!" his father called upstairs. "Your friend Giroro is here"

"R-really?" came an excited reply as Zeroro came bounding down the stairs

"Giroro-kun!" He cried before pulling him into a tight hug.

Giroro was a little shocked, and looked to his brother. Garuru gave him a look that said 'do you honestly care what I think?' so Giroro returned the hug, allowing a few stray tears to streak his face.

"I'm so happy that you're still my friend!" Cried Zeroro.

"W-what? I'm surprised you still want to be my friend! If I hadn't just listened to Keroro, none of this would have happened"

Zeroro buried his head into Giroro's shoulder for a moment, laughing happily, before leading him upstairs so they could play in his room for a bit, Garuru barely noticing as he was in deep conversation with Zeroro's father.

"Here, I was able to copy the photo tonight" said Giroro, passing the picture to his friend. Zeroro beamed and ran across the room to a chest of drawers, from which he pulled out a beautiful silver picture frame, Engraved with many alien letters.

"My father got this all the way from Pekopon ages ago. He gave it to me when I said you were going to give me this photo"

"What do those letters say?" asked Giroro inquisitively.

"Oh… this is Japanese… it says 'Forever'" Zeroro answered, blushing terribly.

Giroro grinned.

"You think we'll be friends forever? Well… me too"

Zeroro grinned as he slid the image into the frame, walked over to his bed and sat it on his bedside table.

"So I can see it when I wake up" Zeroro smiled.

They played together a while after that, Zeroro explaining different card games to him, and showing him some toys his father had brought back from Pekopon.

Later on, Garuru realised it was getting late, so he called upstairs to Giroro. Hearing no reply, climbed the stairs to see if he could find him. He finally stumbled across Zeroro's room, and his face softened as he saw that they had fallen asleep on the carpet while drawing. Garuru lifted his fatigued brother off the ground, smiling as he saw that Giroro had tried to draw him, labelling him "Thu best ni chan in thu world"

He quietly carried him downstairs and said his goodbyes to Zeroro's parents before leaving. He looked down and gently stroked his little brother's smiling face, feeling glad that he had encouraged him to salvage his friendship.


	5. Chapter 4

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 4

A few years had passed. Zeroro had eventually been shown around the 'base', and it became a regular meeting place and play area for the trio. All three always played together, though Giroro sometimes had to remind Keroro of Zeroro's existence.

This time, Keroro and Giroro were up early, planning a day out followed by a sleepover at Keroro's.

"Gundam, check, manga, check, anime, check…" said Keroro, going through a list of things he was bringing out for the sleepover. Giroro rolled his eyes, half listening, doodling trains absent mindedly.

"…Sleeping bags one and two, check-"

"What about three?" Asked Giroro.

"Why would we need three?"

"You forgot Zeroro AGAIN?," growled Giroro "That's it. I've had it up to here with your ignorance! You can forget this whole thing, I'm going to hang out with Zeroro on my own, goodbye!" He fumed, stomping off.

"But Giroro!" Called Keroro sadly, knowing that Giroro wouldn't turn around.

Giroro ran straight to Zeroro's house and knocked on the door. After a while, Zeroro's mother timidly answered. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes red and puffy and she held a handkerchief to her chest. It was clear she had been crying.

"Oh Giroro-kun dear, I'm so glad you came! Zeroro couldn't need you any more than he does now! Please! Be our guest!" she gushed, showing Giroro in.

"He's in his room" She said, gesturing to the stairs. Giroro ran up to Zeroro's room as fast as his legs would carry him. He barged into the room.

"Zeroro, what's wrong?" he cried before pausing.

Zeroro was sat on his bed clutching a pillow so hard that Giroro could see little bits of cotton poking out. Zeroro was curled up in the foetal position, rocking slowly back and forth, his eyes glassy, his mind far away in another place. Tears streaked his face and his body was wracked with silent sobs. Giroro very slowly made his way up to his friend and gingerly sat down next to him, instinctively grasping his hand tightly, pulling it away from the pillow.

"G… Giroro-kun…" Zeroro whispered in a broken voice. Giroro waited.

"He's dead. My Father. He's gone"

Giroro stared at him. He completely understood his pain instantly. He knew that Zeroro would need much more help, as he wasn't as strong as Giroro when it came to life changing events like these. He pulled his friend into a tight hug, tenderly stroking the back of his head. He felt his shoulder dampen with tears as Zeroro continued to cry, but he was calmer now, and had nearly completely stopped trembling.

"Shh…"

"Will it ever stop hurting?"

"I won't lie to you Zeroro, no, it won't, but it'll become more manageable over time, I promise"

"I feel so… pathetic. You didn't fall apart like this when your mother died"

Giroro winced slightly at the mention of his mother.

"Everyone handles pain and loss differently. You're no less of a person if you cry, it lets all the pain out"

"…I told you that"

"I'm reminding you"

Zeroro looked up at Giroro and smiled.

Later on, Giroro helped Zeroro salvage a box of family photo albums. It was his own suggestion, he believed it was important to remember a loved one with happy memories, not their death. Zeroro decided on his mother and father's wedding album. Giroro's theory appeared to work, as by the time they'd finished looking through it and reminiscing, Zeroro had stopped crying completely. They sat in silence for a few minutes, at a loss for any more words.

Zeroro kept flicking back to his favourite picture, the one at taken at the end of the ceremony, where his parent's shared their first kiss as a married couple. It was the photo in which they looked happiest. Zeroro's mind began to wander…

"…I wonder what it's like to be kissed?" he murmured.

"Hm?" asked Giroro

Zeroro snapped upright, blushing at the fact he'd thought out loud.

"O-oh nothing… Just after looking at the wedding pictures I just… wondered"

"Hm."

Giroro sat there for a while, many different thoughts spiralling around in his mind. A blush crept onto his face at the question he'd decided to ask.

"D…Do you want to try it?" He whispered.

"Pardon?"

"Do you want to try it? You know… just to see what it's like"

Zeroro blushed madly and stared at Giroro.

"Y-you mean m-me? A-a-and you?"

"Sure… I mean, we're friends, right? So… it's ok…," He replied, struggling to find the right words to say as, in truth, he had actually begun to develop feelings for his pale blue companion. "I-I mean… you don't… have to…" He looked away, blushing madly. Zeroro thought for a moment, before deciding that it might actually be a good idea, no-one else would have to know, and it would be a great way to temporarily distract himself from his heart breaking bereavement. He gingerly untied his medical mask and laid it in his lap. He shyly looked up at Giroro.

"I… I don't think it's a bad idea… we'll gain more experience this way… right?"

Giroro nodded slowly, but not without his blush intensifying. They gingerly shuffled closer to each other, Giroro gingerly placing his hands on Zeroro's. they slowly… gently… leaned towards one another… and pressed their lips against each other's. The two of them shuddered slightly before breaking apart.

They stared at each other for a moment, then hastily looked away, blushing. Giroro, turned to say something, when he felt Zeroro's lips touch his again. He responded briefly before pulling away.

"Sorry… were we not-"

"No, we were… I just wanted to kiss you again" said Zeroro before letting his whole face turn red. He did like the feel of a kiss, but was a little surprised at himself for daring to plant another.

"Are you two okay up there?" came the worried voice of Zeroro's mother. Giroro flushed red and lost his balance, falling off the bed. Zeroro chuckled as he watched, before replying.

"Yeah mum, we're fine! Coming!"


	6. Chapter 5

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 5

Another time lapse of a few years passed. Keroro, Giroro and Zeroro had just broken up from high school, and it was only a matter of weeks before they split up to do further education elsewhere.

Zeroro was sat with Giroro in his room, going through some paperwork to do with their different job decisions.

"What are you doing again?" Giroro asked, looking through a brochure explaining the different training exercises he would be taking part in in military school.

"Training as an assassin"

"Hm…"

They sat in a tense silence for a moment.

"Giroro-kun?"

"Hm?"

"…I'm really, really gonna miss you"

Giroro looked at his friend, who, unlike him, was still a tadpole.

"I'm gonna miss you too. It'll be awful… not seeing you for a few years…" Giroro frowned thoughtfully before hugging him closely, feeling Zeroro's little tail fanning his arm slightly as it wagged, for the last time, it seemed.

Zeroro started to feel a change, so quickly backed away from Giroro. He took his mask off so Giroro could see his face fully.

"It's happening, isn't it?" He asked simply.

Giroro nodded as he watched Zeroro's tail disappear, and the white part of his face recede. He was a truly beautiful creature, Giroro felt more disappointed than ever that he still hadn't confessed his feelings to hi, even after that magical first kiss all those years ago.

Zeroro looked at his watch, before curtly re-tying his mask and scooping up his papers.

"I guess I need to go now, Giroro. Thanks for having me over… and… I'm glad you were the one to witness me mature…" He said shyly before giving his friend a hug.

'I love you' Giroro mouthed over his shoulder, to prevent himself from blurting it out. He showed Zeroro out of the house and sighed as he watched him leave. /this would be the last time they would see each other for a long time.

When Zeroro got home, he called a brief 'hello' to his family and went upstairs to his room to pack the things he would need for his new life as an apprentice assassin. As he searched through his drawers, he blushed when he came across a lacy black lolita style dress complete with a skull headband, long, black gloves and laced stockings. He rolled his eyes, remembering how he got the silly thing in the first place. It all happened a few moths previously…

Zeroro was walking to Keroro's house. They had decided to hang out alone today, as Giroro was very ill and was bed bound.

He knocked on the front door and was shown in by Keroro's mother. He walked up to Keroro's room and entered without knocking. He ended up walking in on Keroro in a dress, pushing a hoover around, humming a very familiar song.

"K… Keroro-kun! W-w-what are you wearing?" Cried Zeroro.

Keroro turned and grinned at Zeroro.

"Ha! This is just something I've started to do to make cleaning more fun. I got the inspiration from the video for that Queen song, 'I Want To Break Free'. Funny, huh?"

"Y… yeah… funny…"

"You should give it a try!" He grinned before throwing a spare dress in Zeroro's face.

"You have more than one of these things?" He said, before shyly putting it on. Keroro tossed a duster to him, and he began to help Keroro with his room. Admittedly, he had actually enjoyed it, and it DID make cleaning a laugh. Keroro had eventually convinced Zeroro to get himself a dress, so he could try it in his own time. They decided to keep it their little inside joke, no-one else knew about it.

Zeroro chuckled to himself and bundled the dress into his bag. When he had completed his packing, Zeroro decided an early night would do him good, so he retired to his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

A few days later, Giroro had packed his things and set off for the train station, waving goodbye to his brother and unusually teary-eyed father.

On the way, he spotted Keroro, so ran up to him to say a last goodbye before his journey.

"Keroro!" He called. Keroro didn't react at first, but eventually he slowly turned to look at him.

"Oh. It's you" He said monotonously, eyeing Giroro darkly.

"Are you alright? Did you get to say goodbye to Zeroro?"

"NO. NO I BLOODY WELL DIDN'T!"

Giroro froze, stunned at Keroro's seemingly unprovoked outburst.

"H… how come?"

"Because you're always keeping him away from me! Worried that if you leave him out of your sight that I might somehow traumatise him!"

"Well it's not as if you haven't in the past, is it? And you always forget about him anyway"

"Only because I never get a bloody chance to see him!"

"You always use him, or dismiss his opinions. What's the point of you seeing him if you're just going to do that?"

"I can't help being naive!"

Giroro was starting to get very irritated.

"That's probably why you just stay with your parents all day, not bothering to acquire a useful skill. I guess you'd need that kind of life, just living at home with your mum forever, if you're as mentally challenged as you say!"

"At least I HAVE a mum!"

There was a long silence, punctuated only by Keroro's heavy panting.

"What did you just say to me?" Giroro practically whispered.

"what're you gonna do about it, hm?"

"I'll… I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He yelled as he brought out guerrilla war knife and flew at his childhood friend. Keroro showed off his exceptional military skills by dodging quickly and using his bare hands to counter attack. Keroro the skilfully swiped Giroro's knife from him and started stabbing wildly at him, Giroro just barley avoiding the attacks, fiddling with his belt before producing another knife. They fought in close combat, their knives clanging and scraping against each other. Eventually, Keroro changed his pattern and leapt up into the air.

Stupidly, Giroro looked up after him.

The blade of the knife was impaled into his forehead, and violently yanked down, tearing a huge gash in his flesh, barely missing his eye. The blade finally tore through the skin on his chin, and Keroro backed away, panting shakily, holding the blade, dripping with crimson. Giroro did not move at first, but he eventually lowered his head and stared right at Keroro. His eyes shone with almost infantile fear and sadness, before glazing over as he collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from the huge, deep slash on his face. He convulsed for a moment, then went still. Keroro froze for a second, before coming to his senses and running to his injured friend. He stared in disbelief at what he'd done. He lifted the red one's unconscious, blood spattered head, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"Giroro… oh Giroro… what have I done to you?" he whispered, before finally attempting to lift him up and carry him somewhere safe so he could call an ambulance.

Keroro accompanied Giroro to A and E, where a surgeon stitched up and cleaned Giroro's face. No-one had to say anything. Everyone knew the injury would inevitably become a scar. Keroro waited by his bed as he awoke, staring into the perpetual blackness that were Giroro's eyes.

"G…Giroro-kun?" Keroro asked, praying that his friend would hear him out.

"Fuck off"

"Giroro, you don't have to forgive-"

"You've ruined me… I'm a mess… I'm a monster!" He said, wincing as his jaw movement irritated his stitches.

"You're still Giroro! My friend! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I don't know what came over me, I-"

"I think you should leave" Said a nurse coolly before leading him out of the room.

Giroro shakily picked up a hand mirror from his side table and stared at himself. H smiled slightly.

"Hey mum. I look like you" He whispered. He was just like her too. He pushed himself to far, and now he had a scar to show it.


	7. Chapter 6

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 6

Nearly a decade passed. Keroro graduated from his military training with the rank of Sergeant. He was also selected to lead a platoon in the upcoming Pekopon invasion.

Giroro had given his all with his training, and graduated under the title of 'Weapons Expert Corporal Giroro' - the same rank as his father.

Zeroro had left his assassin group to fight for the Keron army under the rank of Lance-Corporal.

All of the recently graduated young soldiers of Keron had congregated to the keronian military headquarters to be assigned to their platoons for the invasion of Pekopon.

Keroro was stood with the other platoon leaders as they were handed a list of their platoon members and were each allocated a room in which to meet with them.

Keroro made his way to sector R4, the meeting room he had been allocated. He admitted to himself that he was indeed nervous, he had no idea who any of his platoon members would be, or what they were like. He was only given the ranks and initials of his subordinates: Private second-class T, Corporal G, Sergeant Major K and Lance-Corporal Z.

He didn't have long to wait before the first of his subordinates entered the room. He was still a tadpole, and was black, with a slight blue-ish tint if he stood in direct light. He wore a yellow hat, the same colour as Keroro's, emblazoned with a green and yellow symbol in the form of a Japanese learner driver sign. He had bright, shining eyes and a huge smile.

"Greetings mister sergeant sir. I'm Private second-class Tamama, reporting for duty sir" He said politely before standing in a perfect salute, staring in admiration at his superior. Keroro was relieved, this guy seemed nice, albeit a little… camp.

"Nice to meet you private, just by you salute and overwhelming amount of respect, I can tell that you are a promising soldier, and a such a young age!" Keroro complimented. Tamama blushed and grinned widely.

They chatted for a bit as they awaited the arrival of the other members of their platoon.

Tamama jumped slightly when they finally heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, come in, no need to knock"

There was a pause.

"Ke-Keroro-kun?" came a familiar voice as they soldier entered.

He was light blue in colour, with light blue eyes to match. He had a grey hat with a red shuriken emblazoned on it. He was also wearing a gas mask and a small metal bracelet. It was none other than-

"Zeroro!" Keroro beamed as he ran to his childhood friend and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Ack! N-nice to see you too, Keroro-kun, what are the chances of us being assigned to the same platoon?"

"I don't know and I don't care, I missed you!"

Tamama tilted his head in confusion, to which Zeroro turned and saluted.

"Apologies! I am Lance-Corporal Zeroro, a childhood friend of the Sergeant. I look forward to working with you"

Keroro smiled slightly as he said those words. They sounded so rehearsed - Zeroro had barely changed, still the shy, lonely child he was all those years ago.

Not long after, another soldier marched in and saluted. He was maroon in colour, with an even darker maroon hat with a yellow skull emblazoned upon it. He had sharp, experienced eyes, with a scar running across the left one. He also wore a dark blue belt with a silver clasp.

"Weapons expert Corporal Giroro reporting for duty, SIR!" He barked military style before recognising the men in the room.

"Keroro? Zeroro?" He asked before being tightly embraced by the two of them.

"Geez guys, I can't breathe!" Giroro laughed unevenly.

"Giroro-kun, you too!" laughed Zeroro

"Are you another childhood friend of the Sergeant?" asked Tamama.

"Huh? I guess you could say that…" Giroro replied, lowering his piercing gaze to Keroro.

"Please! Please, Giroro, I'm so sorry for what I did, I was a fool! Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Keroro said, down on his knees, almost begging. Tamama looked at Zeroro, who was still partly latched on to Giroro. He shrugged in reply.

Giroro looked at Keroro thoughtfully for a few moments.

"…Ok, I will" Smiled Giroro before locking his friend in a tight hug. As he pulled away from Zeroro slightly, the assassin noticed his scar.

"Gi-Giroro-kun? What happened to your face?" he asked quietly, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

"I happened… it was a terrible fight over a small matter… ten years ago…"

"Actually I don't think I want to know" Zeroro said, going a bit pale.

A few moments later, a terribly hunched keronian entered the room, cackling creepily to himself. He was bright yellow in colour, wearing an orange hat with a yellow naruto swirl emblazoned on it. He had very thick glasses that obscured his eyes completely. His face was dark and completely unreadable.

"Ku ku ku… I'm Sergeant Major Kururu… master technical expert at your disposal, Taichou.

Giroro rolled his eyes and glared at this pretentious man, whose entrance had caused Zeroro to let go of him and go to greet him. No - Giroro still wasn't over the assassin.

After lots of friendly introductions, each soldier was instructed on where to meet the following week in preparation for the invasion. In just seven days they would be boarding the keronian mother ship bound for the planet the pekoponians knew as earth.

For now they were transported to a small military base, where each platoon were given three rooms, one for the leader, the other two to be shared by the remaining members. Giroro and Zeroro decided to stick together, as they already knew each other, Tamama and Kururu staying in a room nearby.

Once Zeroro had finished sorting out where to put his things, he noticed that Giroro was staring at him. It unnerved him a little bit until he heard him speak.

"I missed you, Zeroro"

And suddenly it was like high school all over again. Zeroro bounded across the room and gripped his friend in a tight embrace.

"I missed you too, Giroro-kun!" He cried. Giroro lifted Zeroro's head slightly.

"Why do you always have to cover your mouth?," He laughed "What is it this time - a gas mask?"

"Yeah. It's necessary for my job as an assassin, plus it's also a lot less fiddly for me" He said, unclipping it and holding it in his hands. Giroro was breathless for a few moments, reminded of the otherworldly beauty of the light blue assassin. He blushed deeply, but hid it by turning away, as if searching for something. While he was 'looking', his head was bombarded with many memories of the past he and Zeroro shared together, stopping on none other than the memory of their first kiss. And still, after all these years, he had no idea how to confess.

Suddenly, a thought hit him.

"Ze… Zeroro?"

"Yeah?"

"Y'know… apart from our kiss all those years ago… I've never kissed anyone, I was wondering if you had and… if that experiment came in handy at all…" He asked nervously. Zeroro blushed softly before answering.

"Um… n… no… no, I haven't"

They sat in silence.

"It's really late… we should get some sleep" said Zeroro.

"Yeah…"

The next morning, the platoon met up again, to get to know each other a little more. Well - Tamama was interested, at least. Kururu was busy typing on his laptop, occasionally shooting an unreadable glance at Giroro for no obvious reason.

"What sort of hobbies do you have, desu?" asked Tamama sweetly. Zeroro smiled at the little tadpole's politeness.

"Well… I sort of like gardening, though it's not as if I ever have enough time to do any" He said, thinking back to the small garden he was somehow allowed to keep while he was in his assassin group.

Keroro was hardly able to contain his enthusiasm.

"I love Gundam! The models, the manga, the anime, all of it! Gero gero gero!" he cackled cheerfully. Giroro face palmed at his still so immature friend.

"How about you, Giroro?" asked Tamama.

"Uh… I guess… well I'm still a huge fan of trains, if that counts"

"Ku ku… trains" Kururu chuckled.

"I'll have you know that train watching is a respectable mans hobby!" Giroro growled.

"Why bother to go see a train when you can look them all up online?"

"That completely defeats the object, fool!"

"Hey, anyone want some candy?" Tamama butted in, holding out a bag. The two soldiers glared at him.

"Oh well, more for me!" He said cutely before stuffing his face.

Later on, when everyone had retired to their rooms, Giroro was sat fuming on the end of his bed. Zeroro sat next to him.

"That Kururu… I've never met someone so insufferable!"

"Maybe he likes you" grinned Zeroro jokily.

"Yeah, that's TOTALLY believable" Giroro said sarcastically. Suddenly - he felt brave… it was time.

"Even if it's true, I've got my eye on someone else" he continued.

"Is that so?"

Giroro turned to face Zeroro, and without allowing him a chance to object, removed his mask and kissed him deeply. Zeroro was incredibly shocked at first, but he eventually submitted, falling against his attacker, allowing his tongue to explore his mouth. Giroro gently nipped Zeroro's lower lip, earning a breathy moan from his friend. He slid his tongue further into Zeroro's mouth slightly grazing the back of his throat, Zeroro purring his approval.

Eventually, they pulled away to breathe.

"I… didn't know… you felt… this way about me…" Zeroro panted, his entire face bright crimson.

"I've loved you for many, many years, Zeroro, more than I can count, but I… I was a coward… I could never confess…" He mumbled in reply before tilting his head to the side a bit, and leaning in again.

Zeroro felt Giroro's warm, soft lips touch his neck, just above his shoulder, and tilted his head back almost reflexively, allowing Giroro to lightly nip his skin, marking his territory. Zeroro wrapped his arms around the warrior and pulled him closer as he continued to suck on his neck.

Eventually Giroro pulled away and placed his forehead upon Zeroro's, before whispering in a gentle, sincere voice…

"I love you"

Zeroro began to shed tears of joy as he heard those words.

"I… I love you too, Giroro-kun… I really love you! He whispered happily. He burrowed into Giroro's chest, as he'd done years ago, and Giroro slowly lay down with him, and pulled the bed covers over them.

It was the best nights sleep either had had in years.


	8. Chapter 7

**For Better Or For Worse**

Chapter 7

The weekend flew by. On the day of departure, Zeroro had woken up hours before Giroro. He knew that by the end of the day, he and his platoon would be on their way to Pekopon via the Keronian mother ship. He looked at Giroro, who was sleeping serenely beside him. He blushed as he thought back to the night before - when they had lost their virginity to each other. He shivered as he relieved the memory of his Giroro's warm, muscular body hovering over his in the darkness, beads of sweat rolling down his blushing face. He had looked so lustful and sexy… to Zeroro, love making was a beautiful thing - he felt like he and Giroro's connection had been deepened… like he was his… his mate. He kissed the warrior's forehead to rouse him from his slumber. He grumbled to himself a bit, screwed up his eyes for a second then slowly opened them.

"…Hm? Zeroro?" He mumbled.

"Come on, we need to get up, remember, today is when we set off for Pekopon"

"Oh God yeah…," He said before sitting up. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Fairly well, but I'm still a bit… um… sore"

Both of them blushed wildly.

Giroro took Zeroro's hand and helped him out of bed. Together they prepared for what would be a very long voyage.

The platoon met up in the docking station which housed the micro-saucer that would transport them to the mother ship.

Kururu cackled at Giroro as he arrived with his large suitcase. Giroro scowled.

"Yeah, well at least I brought _Something_!" He growled.

"Ku ku ku… converting solid objects into data for a hard drive makes carrying personal belongings around much easier"

"Or is it just so you can hide your stash of plushies and tadpole porn?"

"Giroro!" Zeroro murmured, tugging the weapons expert away from the grinning yellow keronian.

"S…sorry" He mumbled, turning back to Kururu and glaring at him for a moment.

"Ok, is everyone ready?" Keroro asked his subordinates, performing an unnecessary head count.

"I… I'm a little nervous, Gunso-san" Tamama said, trembling slightly.

"I'm sure everyone is a little-"

"Not me. Ku ku ku!"

"Alright, Kururu, that's enough from you already" Keroro said, glaring at his subordinate.

Kururu was being deliberately spiteful, knowing he wouldn't be fired because he was the best hacker on Keron.

'It's like being a bloody school teacher' He thought, rolling his eyes.

"For fucks sake Giroro, you're not five, stop prodding Kururu!"

The platoon got out of the cramped micro-saucer and looked around at their surroundings. The utter size of the of the mother ship was unfathomable, so the platoon just concentrated on finding their room.

It was tiny, barely bigger than the two-man rooms they'd had at the base, only just the right size to fit six keronians at a tight squeeze. The beds were built into the walls, obscured by curtains. On one end of the room, nearest the doors, was a large monitor on the wall, just above a much smaller one, with a simple analogue projection of a keronian face.

Keroro noticed the crestfallen expressions of his subordinates.

"It may be slightly inadequate, but think of all the hundreds of platoons this saucer houses. We can survive, are we not men?"

A few uncertain glances were thrown in Tamama's direction before the platoon unanimously nodded at the sergeant, not wanting to seem so petty in a war situation.

When Giroro had finished putting his stuff away (shoving it at the back of the room with everything else), he turned back to the rest of the group, and found that Zeroro wasn't there. He must have left to get a breather. He felt he should do the same - the pungent, sickly smell of candy, and the sergeant-major's perverted laughter, was enough to drive anyone insane.

It didn't take long to find Zeroro, he was in one of the glass pod-like balconies, nearest their room, just staring out into space. Giroro made his way across the corridor and joined the assassin as he mused.

"Nervous?" Giroro asked.

"Nervous is a bit of an understatement. I'm already homesick" Zeroro said in a small voice. A tear rolled down his face as he clutched a pair of photographs to his chest.

"Please don't cry, it makes me mournful" Giroro said gently, wrapping his arm around him and kissing his cheek.

"Holding this photo makes me feel a little bit closer to home" Said Zeroro, showing the top photograph to Giroro.

It was a recent picture of his family, his mother at the back with he and his younger brother at the front. They were at the base of the stairs, and you could just make out a painting of his late father hung up where the staircase split.

"What about the one behind it?" asked Giroro inquisitively, prodding the back of the photo he was referring to so that Zeroro would bring it forward.

It was the photo Giroro took of the two of them the day after they met.

"B…but I'm right here with you" Giroro murmured, looking up at Zeroro with a blush.

"I know… but I still miss the old days. Plus, this is my all time favourite picture, I just couldn't leave it behind"

"Actually… neither could I" Giroro admitted, opening the buckle on his belt and removing the picture of his family to reveal the old photo hidden safely behind it.

Zeroro smiled and snuggled into Giroro's chest, breathing in his familiar scent, tinged with the smell of gun oil, as he'd been polishing one of his weapons one their short trip in the micro-saucer.

They stared into space silently for a while.

"Giroro?"

"Hm?"

"This… us… being together at last… this feels right. I hope… I hope it will stay this way forever"

Giroro said nothing, just glanced down at Zeroro with sad eyes.

The trip to Pekopon was largely uneventful, aside from them befriending an actual Pekoponian mecha designer working for the Keronian army. Although terrified at first, the platoon were actually relieved when Pekopon became visible on the ship's radar: soon, this painfully boring voyage would end.

"This is so weird, Giroro-kun… that's Pekopon… we're so close!" Said Zeroro, reaching for Giroro's hand, only to find it wasn't there. Zeroro looked up.

"Follow me, Zeroro. I need to talk to you privately" he said monotonously. Zeroro could sense that this was bad news, so he followed slowly behind him.

Giroro led them into an unoccupied meeting room and locked the door behind them.

"Zeroro" Giroro began

"Giroro"

He sighed as he looked into the assassin's bright blue, expecting eyes. They were filled with a childlike innocence and admiration. Giroro paused before continuing.

"This is a very important mission"

"I know"

"We can't let anything get in the way of it"

"What do you…?"

Zeroro went quiet for a minute, trying to figure out what Giroro was referring to… then it hit him.

"N-no! you can't mean…"

"I'm sorry Zeroro… if anyone found out we'd get into a lot of trouble"

"Y…y…" Zeroro stammered, to shocked and upset to properly form words.

Giroro just stared, as if waiting for a small child to calm down after a tantrum. Zeroro wasn't just devastated - he was mad. He felt insulted and used. He slowly brought back him arm, then flung it at Giroro's face, slapping him so hard he lost balance for a second.

"You… you selfish bastard!," Zeroro yelled "You know how emotional I am… you… you dare bombard me with all these new emotions, then rip them right away again!"

"I'm sorry! I was… was…"

"Thinking of yourself, you little shit!"

"Please don't get so angry!"

"Oh I'm not angry I'm fucking furious! Fine, if a life without me is what you want, I'm leaving!" He yelled again, tears prickling his eyes as he unbolted the door and ran out. Giroro followed in a sprint.

"Zeroro! Zeroro, wait!" He cried, feeling tears well up in his own eyes. He quickly lost sight of him, and no matter where he looked, he couldn't find him again.

Eventually, his platoon were called to take their positions in the invading saucer. When he got to the ship, he wasn't entirely surprised to find that Zeroro wasn't there. They had no time to look for him now, the invasion ship was about to take off. Giroro cursed under his breath, but kept a straight face, taking hold of the controls as they descended upon their target planet - Pekopon.

Kururu vigorously tapping at his keyboard was the only sound for a few moments.

"Hmm… It seems the atmosphere of this planet may have a slight effect on our minds, making us feel and do things we normally wouldn't. Better make the invasion quick so we don't get to attached to this place, ku ku ku!" Kururu mused, mostly to himself, but loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear. Giroro stared at Pekopon for a second before looking back at the mother ship.

"Zeroro…"

When they got into the atmosphere, the platoon was told to split up to survey different parts of the country they had landed in - Japan. Giroro's mission was to observe the pekoponians and their behaviour, so he could work out any obvious weaknesses and report them back to Keroro so they could compose a suitable invasion tactic. But he couldn't concentrate, his mind was filled with thoughts of Zeroro.

After about a weak of drifting around Japan aimlessly, but deep in thought, he received an urgent message from HQ.

"Headquarters to advance team! It has come to our attention that part of the away team has come into contact with pekoponian life forms, and that our existence may have been discovered. The mission is compromised"

"Shit" mumbled Giroro, wondering which of the blithering idiots in his platoon had shown themselves to the enemy. He'd love to see Keroro's reaction to that, just to see how great of a leader he had become.

The message continued.

"Therefore, headquarters is temporarily suspending all operations on Pekopon. The invasion fleet is to evacuate immediately! As this is an emergency, all efforts to rescue you will be abandoned. We pray for your safety, brave soldiers!"

Giroro stared at his communicator in horror. For a moment he was speechless. Finally he whispered the name of the only thing that mattered to him.

"Zeroro…"


	9. Chapter 8

**For Better or For Worse**

Chapter 8

A month had passed since the message from HQ. Other than surveillance, Giroro could do no more, not without the instruction of the sergeant. Eventually, he became impatient – why had there been no attempt to reassemble the team so far?

Giroro instantly feared the worst, and embarked on a relatively short search which lead to the house of the Hinata family. After spying on all three family members, the only near-threat he could find was the eldest child – Hinata, Natsumi – and even then, she was just a teenage girl.

He retreated to the household and soon discovered two large, glass doors, perfect for an interior view of the residence.

To his horror, he spotted Sergeant Keroro hovering around what must have been the living room.

"Maybe we misjudged the abilities of the pekoponians…" He breathed "They appear to have somehow managed to hypnotise him… but wait…"

He thought back to the message from HQ.

Keroro was doing chores for the pekoponians…

Which meant HE had blown their cover!

Giroro fumed silently.

Later on, Giroro had managed to infiltrate the house through an open window. He used his grenade-shaped communicator to detect the whereabouts of Keroro. He found there was a lot of activity in the basement, so he snuck into it.

Once he got to the door at the bottom, he opened it to find a room packed with keronian technology – this was it.

Suddenly, he heard movement upstairs. He went for his anti-barrier - to find that it was out of power!

After quickly surveying the room, he noticed a rather old fashioned looking television, so he ran to it, quickly removing the back panel and climbing into it. Just as he was settled, he recognised the faces of two of his comrades – Sergeant Keroro and Private Tamama. They appeared to huddle close, muttering quietly before resonating. Giroro grinned – maybe his assumption was incorrect.

He angrily discovered that his initial thoughts had been correct, as Keroro reached for the dial on the television, and Tamama pressed the remote.

In a fit of sheer rage, Giroro pulled out a bazooka and blew a hole right through the screen, knocking out his childhood friend and causing Tamama to gawp in horror.

"Long time no see – Keroro" Giroro growled, waiting for an explanation.

Elsewhere, Zeroro was jumping around a pekoponians forest in frustration, attempting to continue his training for the invasion. Despite how angry he was at Giroro, Zeroro had a mission. He had secretly hitched a ride in one of the escape pods on the ship that descended to pekopon.

"Stupid Giroro… stupid invasion… stupid FEELINGS… Jirara sensei was right… emotions are worthless, and to be ignored" he grumbled as he leapt from one bough of a tree to another. However, this time he landed badly, until he tumbled, rolled, and-

CLANG.

Zeroro awakened about twenty minutes after his accident. The first thing he noticed was the searing pain in his left leg. He looked down to see it had been gored by some sort of pekoponians trap.

Zeroro knew he was to die here, but the only thing he could think of was the name pof the person that ruined his life.

"Giroro-Kun…"

"Oh my goodness!"

Zeroro froze, before slowly looking up in the direction of this unfamiliar voice. It was a teenage Pekoponian girl – which obviously meant he had been discovered. He said nothing.

"Are you okay, kappa-san?"

Kappa-san?

He stayed silent and tried to move, but the trap just closed tighter, forcing a strained moan out of his throat.

"Oh, you poor thing, let me help you out of that"

The girl knelt down by the trap and gently prized it open. Zeroro whimpered pathetically, mentally kicking himself for showing such weakness in front of the enemy.

Suddenly, the girl lifted him up and carried him away.

"W-where are you taking me?" Zeroro asked in a low voice that was supposed to come across as threatening.

"So you do talk! I'm Koyuki, and I'm taking you back to the ninja village where I live so I can heal you"

Ninja Village?

They soon arrived in the village square, which, to Zeroro's bewilderment, was completely empty. He looked around in confusion before giving a questioning look to Koyuki.

"The other villagers are training out in the woods, like I was before I found you. I'm supposed to call them back in emergencies… but for now, you can be my little secret," She smiled. "I know how to fix you up myself anyway"

Zeroro failed to respond. This was a Pekoponian? But she seemed so caring and nice…

He was carried to a small hut, in which he was gently laid down on a tatami mat to rest while Koyuki went to collect some herbs and gauze. She grounded the herbs with a pestle and mortar, and gently applied it to Zeroro's wound, which caused him to wince and hiss in pain.

"Shh… it's ok…" She said soothingly, which calmed Zeroro a bit as it reminded him of how his mother would treat his cuts and bruises back on Keron. She gingerly laid the gauze on the assassin's leg and pinned it together at the back. Zeroro watched her as she went to retrieve a small towel, which she draped over him as a make-shift blanket.

"Now all you need it rest, Mr Kappa-san… wait, what actually IS your name?" Koyuki asked.

"NOT Kappa-san…" Zeroro mumbled, while contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to tell a Pekoponian who and what he was… but she seemed so sincere and caring… so he decided that he would.

"I'm Lance Corporal Zeroro… an assassin sent by Keron to conquer Pekopon"


	10. Chapter 9

**For Better or For Worse**

Chapter 9

Giroro woke up to a scream from Natsumi, a Pekoponian female he had become quite attached to due to her amazing fighting ability.

Shamefully, he too had been outwitted by the Pekoponians, and now resided in a simple tent in the Hinata's back yard.

He was actually using Natsumi to distract himself from thoughts of Zeroro, who in turn was distracting him from the invasion. Ending the relationship had put more strain on the mission than he would have hoped…

No. His heart had been weakened by love, and he was determined to complete the invasion without any such distraction taking place.

He scrambled outside along with the rest of the platoon, all of which except Tamama resided in the residence of the Hinatas.

With the lanterns they held to aid their vision, it was clearly obvious that a girl had tried to sneak into the house.

"N-Natsumi-san, I can explain…!" The girl cried in an attempt to calm Natsumi down.

"Oh, so you're a friend of Natsumi-dono! My, My… I'm terribly sorry for the shock!" Keroro chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, which Giroro quickly bludgeoned with his fist.

"You fool! Don't shrug her off so easily… look at her outfit… it clearly isn't normal…"

He pointed a machine gun at her face and growled.

"You're a spy who used Natsumi to get to us, right?"

"W-wait, you don't understand-"

"Answer me!" He fumed, cocking his weapon, ready to fire.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, an entity much shorter than Koyuki landed in front of her, hand hovering over the hilt of the weapon on its back.

"How… nostalgic" It said as it stood up slowly, eventually exposing itself in the dim light of the lanterns.

He was a light blue keronian with a grey ninja veil, a matching mask and a katana strapped behind his back. But with the shuriken symbol and sky blue eyes, it could only be one person.

"Ze… Ze…" Giroro choked out, too shocked and disbelieving to make his vocalisation audible.

"Zeroro!," Keroro cried out happily, ignoring the excited cries coming from Fuyuki. "Wow, long time no see! I was so worried about you!"

He turned to his platoon.

"Shall we?" he said before beginning to resonate, the others following suit.

"Gero Gero Gero Gero"

"Tama Tama Tama Tama"

"Giro Giro Giro Giro"

"Kuru Kuru Kuru Kuru"

"I refuse."

The platoon all turned to look at Zeroro in confusion.

"I have rid myself of my terrible past. Zeroro is dead. I have been reborn as Dororo, protector of the planet Pekopon"

Giroro stared at Zeroro – Dororo, now – as he spoke. He had cast his past aside with venom, treating it as if it had never happened… did Giroro do that? And now he was protecting the planet they had been ordered to invade? Giroro glanced at Kururu, realising that what he'd said about the atmosphere of Pekopon was true.

"I am resigning from the platoon. Don't you DARE try to find me" Dororo almost growled as he and Koyuki disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only his resignation form, coupled with his new signature. Keroro slowly picked it up and studied it.

"Even though he was the only person left to search for, we still should have searched harder…" Tamama mumbled.

"I have to be honest… I kinda forgot about him…" Keroro replied sheepishly.

"Y-yeah… me too…" Giroro lied. No-one had ever found out about Giroro and Dororo's past together, and he wasn't about to let them. The Pekoponians and the platoon went inside, but Giroro didn't follow. Instead, he climbed onto the roof of the Hinata house and stared at the stars.

"_Giroro-kun! I'm so happy that you're still my friend!"_

"_No… we were finished… I just… wanted to kiss you again"_

"_Oh, this is Japanese… it says forever…"_

Giroro snapped out of his thoughts with teary eyes. All that history… thrown aside like it was nothing. A tear dripped down his cheek.

"Dororo…" He tasted the new name on his tongue and winced. It felt as if he was cheating on Zeroro. This new Dororo didn't seem anything like Zeroro… yet he was.

"I don't care who you think you are… in my heart, and somewhere in yours, there will always be a Zeroro" he mumbled as he climbed off of the roof and retired to his tent. He opened a small, wooden box he kept safe at the back of his living space and opened it, sliding out the contents and clutching it. It was a photograph. One he had replaced with a photo of Natsumi to try and forget about his past.

It was the one of Giroro and Zeroro taken the day after they met.

Giroro awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. He had never cried himself to sleep before – it was an unpleasant and completely alien experience to him. He noticed the sunlight glowing through the fabric of his tent – how far into the day had he slept?

No sooner had he emerged from his tent, he heard a thunk and a shocked cry from Keroro. Once he got into the house, he noticed that a letter had somehow embedded itself in Keroro's scalp.

"That's a letter from Zeroro!" He cried, briefly forgetting the name change. He plucked the letter from Keroro's forehead and everyone gathered around as he scanned through it.

"He needs help! He and that Pekoponian female have been kidnapped by a Viper!"

"Viper? Emergency Take off!" cried Keroro.

"Rodger!" came the platoon's reply.

"Gara Gara Gara Gara!"

A panicking Koyuki looked over to Dororo, who had not moved since being tied up, and had just hung his head for about 25 minutes now.

"No-one is going to save you now! And without the rest of your platoon, you can't even ATTEMPT to save yourself or the pre-pubescent girl that is your companion! I'll finally get the chance to destroy a Keronian, and avenge my aunt's sister's cousin's grandfather's-"

"That's enough!"

The viper and both captives snapped their heads up at the voice. There, on the cliff top, stood Keroro and his platoon. Although Dororo was just as relieved as Koyuki to see his former platoon, he knew they stood no chance as an incomplete unit of four, so even as he watched them fall, his gaze never wavered, his hopes neither rose nor fell. He muted out the sounds around him and attempted to meditate… maybe his death would be less painful that way…

A voice.

"Dororo… no… Zeroro!"

He focussed his eyes upon the caller.

"Keroro-kun…"

"Zeroro… if we don't make it out of this alive, I want you to know… the one who broke your precious music box… was me! I could never tell you, I was a fraid that you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore!"

Dororo stared at Keroro. Although the green keronian forgot about him often, he never really meant to, and he cared about the blue ninja very much. What kind of a friend would DORORO be if he didn't help his leader now?

The assassin gathered all of his strength, unsheathed his katana and slashed himself free of his bonds.

With renewed energy, the platoon fought as one, delivering a mighty deathblow that finally brought the viper to his inevitable end. Upon regrouping, Koyuki gently pulled Keroro and Dororo's hands together, encouraging them to make peace with each other.

"You say you want to protect this planet, don't you Dororo?" Keroro asked with a smile.

"That is correct, Taichou-dono"

"Then we shall try our hardest to complete our invasion, while at the same time creating world peace. That's hitting two birds with one stone, I would say"

"I understand" Dororo smiled slightly before catching a glimpse of Giroro, who was looking at him with sad eyes. He quickly withdrew his hand from Keroro's. He quickly came up with an excuse.

"You were the one to destroy my treasured music box, weren't you, Keroro-kun?"

"Y-yes… that is correct…"

"You totally screwed me over. That was one of my most important ornaments. My father gave it to me on his very last visit home before his death. I punished my brother, and even blamed my own mother at one point!" The ninja-assassin whimpered before disappearing in a puff of smoke, as he had done the previous night. This time, he left a note saying that he would need time to think before officially re-joining.

"I didn't expect him to be so… stubborn" Said Tamama in bewilderment.

"Well… let's head back. I'm sure we can come up with a reasonable invasion plan that will be to Dororo's liking this week" Keroro smiled optimistically before leading his troop back the way they had come. Giroro looked back sadly at the place where Dororo had disappeared just moments earlier. He stayed there for a bit, just staring, his mind blank, before deciding it would be best to go back to his tent and rest.


	11. Chapter 10

**For Better or For Worse**

Chapter 10

The months that followed were painful for Dororo. He was accepted back into the platoon, even given some personal space in the base, most notably his indoor garden. Yet he was still forgotten on a regular basis, and worst of all, it seemed that Giroro had developed feelings for the red-headed Pekoponian, Natsumi. Although Dororo swore he'd never forgive Giroro for abusing him emotionally, accidentally or not, he still loved him and was insanely jealous of the teenage girl.

Koyuki, the Pekoponian he had befriended and now lived with, considered Natsumi her best friend. Currently, she and Dororo were sat opposite each other at the hearth, going over the day's events.

"I went over to see Natsumi-san again today" Koyuki smiled in that childlike manner of hers. Dororo did not reply, just stared into his mug.

"Giroro hung out with us too, for a while"

Dororo's grip on the mug tightened.

"He was mainly just chatting to Natsumi-san. He did ask about you once, though. He wanted to know how you were doing. Then, he offered to take Natsumi-san home and-"

"ENOUGH!"

Koyuki stared at Dororo, who was gripping his mug so tightly that his knuckles had gone white, and were shaking.

"J… just… no more…" He whispered, before shakily setting down his mug and slowly making his way out of the hut where they lived. Koyuki wondered what it was she said that upset him.

Dororo sat on the roof. He was meditating in an attempt to push all thoughts of Giroro and Natsumi out of his head, but failing miserably.

Eventually, he decided to pay Keroro a visit. He hadn't really had a proper chance to catch up with him since their stay on the Keronian mother ship.

Once he got to Keroro's room, he wasn't particularly surprised to find him building Gundam models. He leapt from the ceiling, startling his leader for a second.

"Hello there, Dororo! Excuse me while I just stick on this last part… there we go!" Keroro smiled before taking the completed model and placing on his display shelf to let it dry.

"Taicho-dono… this room is a mess…" Dororo murmured, having had a proper look at the room.

"Ah… it is a bit…" Keroro said with a grimace, which slowly turned into a cheeky smile.

"Hey, Dororo-kun… I have a good idea…" He said cryptically before making his way to his wardrobe, from which he pulled out a pink and green Lolita dress.

"No… you can't be serious… we're too old for this…" Said Dororo, but he couldn't help grinning at the inside joke.

"Come on, it'll be fun! When was the last time we did anything together anyway?" Keroro grinned, pulling out the black dress that belonged to Dororo - which he had scavenged from the assassin's bag on arrival to Pekopon – and chucking it to him.

"Oh, Keroro-kun? Yes, I remember him, we were cross-dressing buddies" Dororo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He complied though, and awkwardly slipped inside the dress.

Keroro just chuckled and got out his hoover.

"What can I say, other than 'I want to break free'?" He laughed. He was promptly bludgeoned in the back of the head by a feather duster.

Giroro stomped his way out of the base towards Keroro's room. He, Tamama and Kururu had been waiting half an hour in the meeting room, waiting for Keroro to turn up to a meeting HE scheduled. He growled as he yanked open the fridge door to the room.

"Keroro! Get your lazy butt in that meeting room right now…" Giroro trailed off the second he saw Dororo, dressed in a very short black Lolita dress, wiping something off the floor with a cloth. He didn't even notice that Keroro was there, in almost exactly the same situation. He just stared at Dororo, who stared in shock and embarrassment back at him.

Giroro felt blood trickling from his nose.

"D-Dororo…" He whispered.

Dororo quickly left the room in a puff of smoke, leaving only the cloth behind him.

"What do you want, Giroro?" Keroro ask in mild annoyance at the interruption, not seeming to bothered that Giroro had found out he and Dororo's little secret.

"N…nothing…" He replied, backing away into the fridge.

"Tch… what's HIS problem?" Keroro mumbled as he got back to dusting.

Dororo quickly locked himself in he and Koyuki's hut and sat in a corner, holding the fabric of his dress as a comfort blanket.

"G…G…G…Giroro saw me… in a dress…" he mumbled, his face so red you would think it was his natural skin colour.

"He... he was looking at me like… like he still liked me…" He whispered before frantically shaking his head and laying it in his hands.

"N-no! He… he was just being perverse… he doesn't care about me at all… just like everyone else…"

Dororo's damaged conscience only saw things from a pessimistic, glass-half-empty perspective. He retreated further into the hut and curled up into a ball, burying his face in the dress to muffle his cries.

Giroro had since retreated to his tent, where he sat, fingering the clasp on his belt in deep thought. We couldn't believe what he had just seen… Giroro had only ever had one even REMOTELY sexual fantasy… and that was pretty much it.

He slid the photo of the two of them as tadpoles from under his pillow, and stared at the little Zeroro in disbelief.

"Was that really the boy I've grown up with my whole life?" Giroro whispered to himself, before lying down and staring at the roof of his tent.


	12. Chapter 11

**For Better or For Worse**

Chapter 11

Giroro barely uttered a word for the next two weeks. Dororo didn't pay any attention whatsoever to Giroro if they were anywhere near each other, but other than that he was completely normal. Or, he was, until that one invasion meeting…

"So… any ideas?," asked Keroro, his face slumped on the table at the front of the room "Our budget is low, and I can't think of anything"

"Well… if we used less mechanical labour, we could easily create a harmless machine that would force the pekoponians to submit to us, without breaking the bank. Ku ku ku!" Kururu suggested.

Keroro looked at Kururu in extreme confusion before continuing.

"Yeah, but how would we get the labour?," Keroro looked at Giroro, wanting him to contribute with some input. "What do you think Giroro-kun?"

"Hm? Oh… Why don't we just hypnotise the Pekoponians and the animals of Pekopon to do the labour for us?" Giroro said, smirking at the idea of the Pekoponian inhabitants building… whatever it was which would be used to enslave them.

"I cannot accept this!" Dororo cried from the back of the room.

Giroro gritted his eyes. He had had it up to here with Dororo's need to protect this god forsaken planet. He turned to face the ninja.

"We'll never get this bloody invasion out of the way if you keep refusing to cooperate!" he growled.

Before Dororo had a chance to retaliate, the door to the room was suddenly kicked down by Natsumi, who didn't hesitate to stomp into the room, Fuyuki following timidly.

"What are you planning… stupid… frog…" She trailed off after reading the atmosphere and noticing the death glares shot from Giroro to Dororo and vice versa.

"You're not exactly helping either, _SOLDIER_" said Dororo, venomously lacing the last word with sarcasm.

"W-what?"

"It's her, isn't it?," Dororo cried, pointing at Natsumi accusingly "It's your infatuation with this Pekoponian girl that's hindering the invasion! Not me!"

"Infatuation…?" Natsumi breathed in shock.

"Oh, come off it, Dororo! You're just a sour bastard that needs to get over his fucked up past!" Giroro fumed.

"You know full well why my life is screwed up, it was YOUR FAULT" Dororo growled

"I knew this would happen, I bloody knew it" Giroro said, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Keroro, Tamama, Kururu, Fuyuki, Natsumi and Mois exchanged equally confused glances, but none of them dared interrupt the argument.

"You know it wouldn't be this way if you didn't break it off! It's your fault I love this planet too much to invade it," Dororo hissed, prodding a finger roughly into Giroro's chest "It's your fault I left the platoon, and it's your fucking fault we're even arguing in the first place!"

Giroro angrily grabbed the bottom of Dororo's mask and held him up by it, leaning in and glaring furiously at the assassin.

"Get. The fuck. OVER IT" He growled deeply.

"Only if you do, first" Dororo choked.

Giroro dropped the blue ninja on the floor and stared at him. Dororo choked again, as he tried to drag himself up into a sitting position.

"You… are a hypocrite… who is arrogant… and feels his image is more important than-"

"NOTHING is more important to me than you, Dororo" Giroro suddenly said, causing Dororo to snap his head up to face Giroro in shock.

"W-what?"

"I think it's time I dropped this stupid charade," Giroro said, making his way up to Dororo and kneeling down so he was level with the stunned keronian "You may want to forget about your past and move on… but I'm a persistent bastard and I don't let go so easily," He hooked a finger into the rim of Dororo's mask "You're… all I think about. I still love you, I always have and I always will" He finally pulled the mask down, exposing the assassin's mouth, before softly pressing his lips to Dororo's

Everyone in the room, even Kururu, stared open mouthed at this seemingly unprovoked display of affection.

Dororo didn't react at all, he was frozen. All he could do was stare wide eyed at the one he loved. Eventually, he lifted a hand to rest on the belligerent's cheek to pull him closer, before they broke apart, panting heavily and blushing deeply.

"I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks. I don't care if it gets in the way of the god damn invasion. My life revolves around you, Dororo, you're my world" Giroro murmured before resting his forehead upon the ninja's. Hearing this, Dororo began to tear up.

"Giroro-kun… oh Jesus, I still love you too" He whispered.

After a moments silence, Keroro spoke up.

"What do you mean 'still'?" He asked, wondering just how long this had been going on for.

Dororo fell back and blushed.

"A-are we in trouble?" He stammered. Giroro helped him up before completely explaining everything to Keroro.

"So… oh" Keroro said blankly, not really sure how to react.

"I certainly hope you haven't got a problem with this, Keroro" Giroro asked in a low voice, eyeing Keroro almost threateningly.

"N-no, of course not! I-it's just… well; you two are my childhood friends… I'm just a little shocked, that's all"

"This relationship doesn't change who we are, Keroro-kun" Dororo said, reassuring him.

"Strange, coming from you," said Giroro, nudging the ninja affectionately "Whatever happened to 'Zeroro is dead, I'm Dororo now'?"

"Uh… well… shut up."

Giroro grinned triumphantly at Dororo, but squeezed his hand softly. Quite frankly, he was sure nothing could upset him now. Dororo was back with him, and that was enough.

That night, Giroro and Dororo sat on the roof together, mostly just in companionable silence.

"Giroro-kun" Dororo said suddenly.

"Hm?"

"What happens now?"

Giroro contemplated the question.

"We could leave Pekopon and start a different invasion"

Dororo shook his head.

"After meeting Koyuki and living on this planet for so long… I've realised it would be wrong to take what isn't yours from a planet that deserves its own right of freedom"

Giroro nodded.

"Well… what do you think we should do, Dororo?"

"I want to go home"

Giroro looked at the light blue ninja and tilted his head slightly.

"Right now… the past… Keron… our people… that's what's most important to me. I could do there what I do here… I could defend Keron…," He looked a Giroro meaningfully for a second "But I wish you would do something local too… like maybe… drive a train? You've always liked trains…"

Giroro spluttered at that last part.

"You're right, I do love trains, but I just can't see myself being anything but a soldier"

"But if you go out and fight and… I lose you… I… don't know what I'd do…"

"Don't worry about me, Dororo. I'm 'The Demon of the Battlefield', am I not?"

"Even the most careful of soldiers die, Giroro. My father was one of them"

"I know"

Another silence.

"Seriously, if you die, I'll be very cross"

"Heh, well, I promise not to die then… as long as you're wearing that dress for me for when I come home…"

Dororo playfully smacked Giroro over the back of the head playfully, only to have his arm grabbed so Giroro could pull him closer. He pulled down the ninja's mask and kissed him deeply, smiling blissfully into the Dororo's lips as he returned it.

Pulling away, Giroro slid his arm around Dororo and pulled him into a warm embrace in which they stayed long after the moon had risen to signal the end of the day. Giroro smiled at the sight, cradling the sleeping Dororo's head in his arms. Their long running feud was finally over… it was their time. Time to start something new.

Fin

**A/N**

**It's finally over! I'm terribly sorry to all my readers for making them wait so long XD I understand that this story may be hard to read in parts, but I have no Idea how to use the line dividers on . Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story and the fluff-fest at the end XD Reviews are welcome ^^**


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